“Even as the public decries government spying programs and panics at the news of the latest data-breach the daily traffic to sites like Facebook and Twitter—especially through mobile devices—not only stays high, but continues to grow. Both the collective behavior of social sharing, and the technology for analyzing and interpreting social data, are already widely in place. The trick is to actually merge the two—which does not necessitate a whole new system.”
– Victoria Wangia, Professor of Health Informatics, University of Cincinnati
quoted in “The Facebook Model for Socialized Health Care” by Edgar Wilson, The Health Care Blog, 2/26/2015
Athena Health, a major provider of electronic health records (EHR) NOT to be confused with Anthem, has announced its purchase of MySpace, the pioneer social network.
MySpace (original spelling) was the first social network on the internet, but has steadily lost users to its competitor Facebook. Myspace (current spelling) was bought by Justin Timberlake in 2008. Despite efforts to revamp and redirect, Myspace user registrations continued to decline, and it has become a limited network for musical performers. Mr. Timberlake is confident that this move with Athena Health will broaden the scope of his company positively, “I am looking forward to making a more significant contribution to society than singing “D**k in a Box” on Saturday Night Live’s Christmas show”.
Jonathan Bush, CEO of Athena Health and related to both presidential Bushes, says he is making this move because it is time that health care providers make more innovative use of the social networks. Athena Health, based in Massachusetts, already provides electronic medical record (EMR) capability to health care providers nationwide. AthenaClinicals, its popular cloud-based electronic medical record and billing program, is available on desktop and mobile computers via AthenaNet. Its 2007 initial stock price of $18 is now at $120.
Using well-tested Facebook-like methodology Athena Health will create a wall, “The Health Wall”, in everyone’s Myspace account which will be renamed AthenaFace. This will add new meaning to “updating your status”. “Sick”, “Well”, “Recovering nicely”, “Waiting to find a doctor”, and “A little worried about what is happening to me” will be examples of clickable boxes.
Pop-up ads and informational banners will be health-oriented. Such as:
“Check your immunization score FREE”,
“Need help figuring out your Health Insurance deductible, Obamacare tax credit, or fine?”,
“Find the Nearest Medical Marijuana Dispensary”, and
“Special discounts on fitness club dues”.
AthenaFace representatives neither denied nor confirmed plans to link up with Groupon, another semi-floundering internet company, that provides discount coupons for a whole variety of services and products.
Record entries will be encrypted and saved, of course, though users will have the “Snapshot option” of having certain parts of the record being deleted within 30 seconds of being read. “The Health Wall” will accept postings of pictures and videos which will certainly enhance the robustness of the medical record for skin rashes, wounds, gait disturbances, and seizure disorders.
Efforts to link with relevant mobile apps like “Breathalyzer”, “Fitbit”, “Sleepbot”, “Whazthat!?”, etc. have already begun. An app to link with Uber for the “Next available doctor to see you” will be in the first upgrade. However, that app, UberDoc, will include a charge. Prices will vary depending on circumstances, so customers will be urged to settle on the price before taking the appointment.
In response to critics who worry about the security of personal information in a combined health care/social network platform Jonathan Bush has stated, “Lots of people are obviously not at all concerned about such privacy issues. They are sexting and sending pictures of their genitalia all over the internet. Why would they care if somebody knew their blood pressure and cholesterol level? ”
But, AthenaFace will have different levels of privacy options that can be set by the user. On the user-sharing side the options will include:
“All”,
“Family and Friends”,
“Just Family”.
“Just (insert name here) ”, and
“Nobody”.
For provider-sharing the options for the customer will include:
“All”,
“Specialists Only”,
“Primary Care Only”,
“Dr.(insert name here)” , and
“Nobody, especially that nosey office nurse who thinks she runs the place.”
Why wait until your physician and hospital catches up with the federal EMR incentives for establishing a patient portal?
Do it yourself with AthenaFace!
Coming soon to your internet browser, but most probably after 2016 … depending on election results.
HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY.
HUB's LIST of medical fun facts 